


desire

by falloutmars



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, One Night Stand, boss betty, jughead has an interview, look. im sure you know where this is going, meet cute kinda?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutmars/pseuds/falloutmars
Summary: Jughead has an interview at New York Times and he can't stop thinking about the woman he hooked up with last weekend.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 20
Kudos: 77





	desire

**Author's Note:**

> just a little something

Jughead _really_ wants this job. 

Working at the New York Times is any aspiring journalist’s dream - it’s been his since he was 12 - and only a select few end up being picked for interviews out of thousands of applications means Jughead needs this interview to go well. 

He wakes up early, early enough that he has time to go for a _jog_. As much as he hates to admit it, the exercise does help his borderline-overwhelming nerves. After that, he returns to his crappy studio apartment, jumping in the shower and dressing in his best (and only) suit all while trying and failing to not think about the hot blonde he hooked up with just last weekend. And stupidly forgot to get her number. 

At least the thought of her - Betty, if his drunken memory serves him well - is keeping his mind off of his upcoming interview. 

Or maybe not. Maybe he should be focusing on cramming, sorry, last-minute preparation instead. But he isn’t.

–

_“Come on, Jones,” Reggie begged, throwing his feet on Jughead’s coffee table, something he_ hates _him doing._

_“No way.”_

_He folded his arms like a child trying to get his own way._

_Jughead eyed him suspiciously. “What’s this really about?”_

_Reggie sighed. “Ronnie’s hot friend is joining her, and apparently she’s into Donnie Darko.”_

_“So you’re trying to set me up?”_

_“I’m trying to get you laid.”_

–

Jughead assesses his image in his bedroom mirror. His suit looks, well, okay. It’s not perfect, it’s not designer, but it will have to do. He looks tired, but there isn’t much he can do about that now, and his hair looks messy. He can at least try to sort that out.

Comb in hand, he tugs it through his unruly mop. Usually covered by his years-old beanie, he isn’t entirely sure what to do to make it look even half-decent, so he just carries on trying to comb it into some kind of neater arrangement. 

He assesses his image once more. He looks decidedly _okay_. Not great, but not awful. Everyone says first impressions are important but as a trailer park kid who graduated college 2 years later than everyone else, he hopes there’s something else other than first impressions and resumes on his side today. 

Leaving the apartment with over an hour to undertake a 20-minute journey, Jughead takes a slow walk towards the subway station just a few blocks away. 

–

_“Another one, Jones! You’re on fire!” Reggie yelled as Jughead downed his fourth shot of the evening._

_He was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol after that, glad to have lost the intense nerves he had about meeting Reggie’s relatively new girlfriend’s_ hot friend _. Jughead doesn’t do well around quote-unquote hot girls. His brain short-circuits and he makes himself look stupid, and with the knowledge that this friend might like him, he damn well needed the alcohol in his system._

_After his fifth shot, a blonde girl tapped him on his shoulder._

_“Hi,” she said, smiling sweetly, but not-so-subtly eyeing him up and down. “You must be Jughead. I’m Veronica’s friend.”_

–

He arrives at the busy subway station, swiping his card and weaving his way through crowds of tourists and commuters. Anxiety starts to set in as he steps onto the platform, anxiety about his interview. 

_God_ , he really wants this job. He knows he’s done well to get this far, but now he’s gotten this far, he does not want to fail. His dream job is within reach, if only he can pull himself together and get through this interview. 

The train arrives with a loud screech, shocking Jughead out of whatever nerve-induced trance he’d gotten stuck in. Along with the rest of the busy platform, he makes his way into the equally-busy carriage. He squeezes himself in, leaning against one of the metal poles as people push around him. 

As the train departs for his 13-minute journey into Manhattan. 

–

_He had her pushed up against the wall of the corridor next to the toilets. He was kissing her and her hands started trailing down the front of his button-up shirt he’d begrudgingly put on. She groaned into his mouth, unbuttoning his top 3 buttons as if she forgot where they were._

_He leaned back, panting slightly. “Do you wanna go back to mine?”_

_“Yes. Definitely.” She kissed him again, shoving her tongue into his mouth before stepping back and grabbing his hand. “Let’s go.”_

–

The 13 minutes fly by so quickly that Jughead almost misses his stop. He has to push past a confused looking tourist to get off before the doors close. Luckily, he planned for such occurrences, still having 45 minutes left before his interview. 

Exiting the station, he decides to grab a coffee at the Starbucks on the corner to waste some more time. It’s a relatively average looking coffee shop with a surprisingly small queue. Maybe that says something, but surely coffee is coffee, right?

He orders a latte, partly because he’s secretly basic but partly because he doesn’t want too much caffeine. He sits down in a dark corner, absentmindedly sipping his drink and staring into space. 

–

_Jughead didn’t sleep much that night. Neither of them did. Instead, the night was filled with repeated pleasure, better than anything he’d ever experienced before._

_Eventually, he fell asleep with a beautiful blonde in his arms._

_In the morning, he woke up to an empty bed and the shower running. He made a split-second decision to join her, knocking on the door and awaiting a_ yes please _from her._

_Afterward, they ate breakfast together, but still, it somehow slipped his mind to ask for her number._

_She left shortly after that, kissing him on the cheek and whispering, “Good luck for your interview.”_

–

Walking up to the New York Times building is more nerve-racking that Jughead had expected. He’s early still but decides to stop putting it off entering any longer. It takes him some time to actually get into the building and up to the right floor, though, so he only ends up being 10 minutes early.

The waiting room is, for lack of any other words, _fancy_. With glass walls showing off the city’s landscape, he imagines what amazing views can be seen at sunset, and finds himself praying to anything that he gets this goddamn job. 

A few minutes later, someone calls his name ( _Forsythe Jones_ ) and they lead him across the floor, through two doors and to a door labeled ‘Editor - Elizabeth Cooper’. 

He thanks the assistant, who walks away in the opposite direction, leaving him to it. He takes a deep breath and knocks on the door, swallowing down his lingering nerves.

“Come in,” who he assumes is the editor says through the door. 

And he does, tentatively entering the office and closing the door behind him.

When he looks up, he makes eye contact with the editor sitting cross-legged behind the desk.

_Fuck_. 

“Jughead,” she says with a breathy laugh. “Hi.”

His legs take him towards her. “Betty…?”

There’s a glint in her eye when she says, “What a coincidence this is.”

He sits down, eyes never leaving hers. “You knew?”

She nods, a calculating smirk on her face. “Now, I’m not sure you need this interview, do you?” 

**Author's Note:**

> hello! another little something here for y'all during these strange times. i hope you liked it. 
> 
> can we all agree that boss!betty is hot too?
> 
> thank you for reading and thank you for comments and kudos - i appreciate them all.
> 
> stay safe.


End file.
